The Inspirationals: Orli Tesler, Tesler Mendelovitch

Every other week, we do a short profile of someone who has been successful creating a career out of doing what they love. We call it The Inspirationals and we hope they will inspire you too!

What is Tesler Mendelovitch ?

Orli says that she and her partner, Itamar, like to describe their projects as ‘slow cooking’. This means that each project that they decide to work on can take over a year or even two until completed. Being textile designers, each project is consistently material-oriented.

They start off by experimenting on a flat textile surface and then begin to dissect and test the boundaries of the material by deconstructing and reconstructing the piece in order to understand the textile’s boundaries. By studying the weak points and strengthening those, they can pull the flat surface into an interesting three-dimensional shape that they couldn’t have foreseen.

Harmony, minimalism and sustainability are what they try to incorporate in their work. The sustainability aspect is very much an important part of their ethos. They work with natural high quality materials and every piece is handmade to order. Every collection produced in studio could have been made 100 years ago.

How was Orli inspired to start Tesler Mendelovitch?

As a couple, they met while studying for their B.A in Textile Technology and Design in 2007. They hit it off very quickly despite their vast differences. Itamar is very methodical and precise, while Orli is more impulsive, letting the design process take care of itself. These qualities are polar opposites, but when fused, seem to make a really good team.

They spent the four years of their degree experimenting with different materials while using the school’s facilities as much as they could. They weren’t favorites of some of their teachers by any means! They didn’t fit the mold of what their teachers wanted them to be.

“A good idea is an excellent start, but trial and error are what makes a good idea GREAT.” This is what drove them, more than anything, to open their own studio. They needed a place where they could really be free to take the time to develop their ideas and identity without any ‘noise’.

Wood is also a very important part of their design. It is so versatile, the grain tells a story of where it came from and you can feel its history when you hold the material in hand. Warm and durable, wood lasts a very long time and does not wear and tear within a year. Despite the industry’s efforts of labeling wood as a current trend, it is far beyond a passing fad and will be relevant for as long as it can be sourced

Quotable: Orli on what advice she would give to others looking to start a business doing what they love……

“There are many things that we have learnt along the way and are still learning.
We think it is very, very important to find your own identity and focus attention on what matters to you and to do it your way. In the design world and especially fashion, there is a lot of copying going on which leaves very little room for creativity. We advise to take the time to truly find something that is all about you. From our experience, people really respond to authenticity and originality as these are truly aspects of (self) love.”

How would Orli describe herself in one word?

Free. Orli tells us: “We are truly thankful to be working together every day in an environment that is all our own. We never knew the true meaning of the word freedom until we stepped out into the unknown.”